Wireless communication systems have become ubiquitous in society. Business and consumers use a wide variety of fixed and mobile wireless terminals, including cell phones, pagers, Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems, and fixed wireless access devices (i.e., vending machine with cellular capability). Wireless service providers continually try to create new markets for wireless devices and expand existing markets by making wireless devices and services cheaper and more reliable. The price of wireless devices has decreased to the point where these devices are affordable to nearly everyone and the price of a wireless device is only a small part of the total cost to the user (i.e., subscriber). To continue to attract new customers, wireless service providers are implementing new services, especially digital data services that, for example, enable a user to browse the Internet and to send and receive e-mail.
Earlier code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, such as IS-95 networks carried only a very small amount of data traffic. However, third generation wireless networks, such as IS-2000 (also called CDMA2000), are designed to carry much heavier loads of data traffic. IS-2000 networks are capable of efficiently providing both high-speed data services and voice traffic. Still other networks, such as 1×EV-DO networks, are primarily data systems. These types of networks, if used for both voice and data, typically carry voice on an adjacent channel to data traffic. However, IS-2000 networks (i.e., Release C of CDMA2000) carry voice and data on the same carrier.
One important feature of IS-2000 (EV-DV-Release C) networks is the use of a Forward Packet Data channel (F-PDCH) and a Forward Supplemental channel (F-SCH) that are capable of transmitting voice and data traffic from a base station to a mobile station. The F-SCH normally carries data traffic and the F-PDCH usually carries voice traffic. The F-SCH may be flexibly allocated to different subscribers, as data services are needed, thereby conserving the bandwidth resources of a base station.
An IS-2000 system allocates a high-speed data link to a mobile station by transmitting an Extended Forward Supplemental Channel Assignment message (ESCAM) to the mobile station. The ESCAM instructs the mobile station to process a particular F-SCH for a specified time period (including infinite) at a given data rate. During the assignment, the data transmitted on the F-SCH is directed only to that particular mobile station. However, a shared F-SCH may be allocated to multiple base stations in order to increase system throughput.
One significant drawback to conventional IS-2000 systems, including IS-2000C networks, and earlier wireless systems, is that a mobile station may receive data on either the F-PDCH or the F-SCH, but not both, at any given time. Simultaneous operation of the F-PDCH and the F-SCH is not possible in current wireless systems. However, the latest CDMA mobile stations use radio frequency (RF) transceivers that are capable of simultaneously receiving (and sometimes transmitting) voice traffic and data traffic on two or more CDMA channels. Thus, conventional IS-2000 systems do not take advantage of the capabilities of the latest generation of mobile stations.
Therefore, there is a need for IS-2000 wireless networks and IS-2000 mobile stations that are able to simultaneously use the Forward Packet Data channel (F-PDCH) and the Forward Supplemental channel (F-SCH). In particular, there is a need for new IS-2000 protocol messages that enable the simultaneous operation of the Forward Packet Data channel (F-PDCH) and the Forward Supplemental channel (F-SCH). More particularly, there is a need for new IS-protocol 2000 protocol messages that enable the dynamic allocation of the Forward Packet Data channel (F-PDCH) and the Forward Supplemental channel (F-SCH) to a particular mobile station.